Making a New Friend at Lunch

February Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Statues”

What’s hidden within his verdigris chest?

In Princeton, New Jersey, I encountered this young man with his book and his burger. The sculpture is called Out to Lunch.

You might assume that a figure made of a material as hard as that from which he has been wrought would have an equally hard heart hidden within his verdigris chest. But I prefer to think that the boy reading has a soft beating heart, and that he’s enjoying the heat of the sunshine on his shoulder on this balmy day in early June. He’s rolled up his sleeves, so he’s certainly not feeling cold.

Is he a student or a worker freed for an hour from his daily toil? The ribs of corduroy on the knees of his trousers have been worn away with age, an his shoes seem to be coming to the end of their life. I like to think of him as having paused on his way back to his workplace with a stack of books he’s borrowed from the library.

I might have chosen the juiciest novel. But that wasn’t his response to the pile of books he’s recently set down. He’s reading economist Milton Friedman’s book, “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.”

In the week ahead, will you be able to take a full hour out of your workplace at lunchtime? If not, you may be missing an important aspect of self-care. Think about what measures you can put in place instead. Twenty to thirty minutes in nature, three times a week, is enough to reduce your cortisol and your stress level.

If you have an hour to spare in the middle of today, what book will you be reading? What book do you wish you had time to read?